The town of Morawa in Western Australia is facing one of the worst rat outbreaks ever recorded, creating an alarming situation for residents and farmers in the area. Residents describe an unbearable smell that has enveloped the town, caused by urine, feces and dead rat carcasses. In some cases, conditions have become so severe that entire families have been forced to temporarily leave their homes.

According to data from the Australian science agency CSIRO, the region has recorded up to 400 active nests per hectare, a level that exceeds the threshold for an epidemic by ten times. By comparison, an outbreak is considered to be around 40 active nests per hectare. “We were measuring levels that were ten times higher than the epidemic threshold,” grain farmer Jeff Cosgrove told the British media outlet The Guardian.

Farmers report that rats are everywhere – in warehouses, cars, ceilings, walls, floors and even in beds. At night, the rodents invade the streets in such numbers that residents compare them to a “river” moving through the city. The region has been dealing with record numbers of rats since March, and the situation has spread to other areas, including the Esperance region in the south of the state. Warnings of a growing rodent population have also been issued in parts of South Australia.

Experts say ideal climatic and agricultural conditions have favored the rat population explosion. A bountiful grain harvest, combined with hailstorms that scattered seeds on the ground, created abundant food sources for the rodents. Then, a warm, dry autumn contributed to their rapid reproduction.

Authorities and farmers have begun using zinc phosphide baits to curb the spread of rats, while the economic damage is expected to be significant. Preliminary estimates indicate that losses to Western Australian farmers could exceed $50 million.

Experts compare the current situation to the massive rat outbreak that hit eastern Australia in 2021, one of the worst episodes of its kind in the country's history.